ALiCE in WoNDeRLaND
-28-
"Virtual?" I whispered.
I stared at my hand a moment, then had a revelation. How could I have forgotten again so quickly? I raced out to the center. "We're leaving, guys!" I announced.
Caol turned to us, ready to take another shot.
"ALiCE!" the guys all yelled as I stood there before him, empty-handed.
I reached for my bag as he approached and pulled out my communications device. "Abortion's a real let-down, I bet," I thought out loud, reaching for a large red button. "See ya, Caol."
The hologram disappeared, leaving the Villikins and their equipment lying on the hard concrete. I stood there, motionless, disbelieving what I had just seen.
"What in the name of Christ Church was that?" I demanded, falling to my knees, the guys still scattered all around me. I stared at them. "How did we forget it was virtual?"
Nam shook his head slowly, not disagreeing, but in pain. "His technology's good. Almost too good. He could've killed us."
I shivered in fear as I studied Nam's minute injuries. How could a virtual environment actually hurt us? It must have had some super sensory output operating, for one thing.
"You might want to disable that," Miyka'el pointed out, motioning to the communicator. "He might try to override your command and initiate the program again." He shrugged at my confusion. "A long shot, but possible."
"Couldn't he just override the disable command, then?" I asked.
He thought about that. "Touché."
"Man, how'd you know that was going to work?" Zione asked, rubbing his arm.
"I didn't." I was suddenly somewhere between angry and grief-stricken. "You know, for a top secret task force, you sure got your asses kicked."
"We can't hurt him," Aurick reminded us.
"What? Because it would hurt you?" I laughed. "It would end up hurting you anyway, wouldn't it, if you didn't fight back?"
"She's got a point," Zione commented with a smirk, probably imagining the possibilities.
Nam was silent, staring at his injury. "His technology," he murmured. He turned to us. "And the magic? Does anyone want to comment on where Caol might have gotten his hands on some magic since we last saw him?"
Their faces all fell with the realization. We were all so relieved to get away that we completely forgot what it was we had been running from. Several of the guys cursed.
"It's impossible. Even if he did start training for it right after we last left him, there's no way he could have learned anything close to that attack in that amount of time," Miyka'el argued, with no one in particular. We all knew he was right.
I put my face in my hands, resting my arms and head against my knee as I sat in the circle of Villikins, and I sighed, disheartened. What was going on?
"Let's think about this," Nam began. "Fiore left. Caol went nuts. Caol has magic. Fiore hasn't contacted any of us. Caol wants to kill us."
"He didn't seem so mad when we first got there," I muttered. "Talk about a change of heart."
"This is insane," Zale stated, captain of the obvious.
"You think he really was trying to get us caught?" Aurick wondered.
"Wouldn't doubt it," Miyka'el said. The others nodded unconsciously in agreement.
"So he's working for the Queen now?" I asked.
They looked my way at once. "What?" Zione replied.
I remembered the scar. "He had this scar, a red mark on his arm..." I reached over to Zione, and traced my finger along the place on his arm where I had seen Caol's scar. He shivered as well. I stared at him, puzzled.
Zale sprang to an explanation. "That's a Queen's heart tattoo."
* * *
-28-
"Virtual?" I whispered.
I stared at my hand a moment, then had a revelation. How could I have forgotten again so quickly? I raced out to the center. "We're leaving, guys!" I announced.
Caol turned to us, ready to take another shot.
"ALiCE!" the guys all yelled as I stood there before him, empty-handed.
I reached for my bag as he approached and pulled out my communications device. "Abortion's a real let-down, I bet," I thought out loud, reaching for a large red button. "See ya, Caol."
The hologram disappeared, leaving the Villikins and their equipment lying on the hard concrete. I stood there, motionless, disbelieving what I had just seen.
"What in the name of Christ Church was that?" I demanded, falling to my knees, the guys still scattered all around me. I stared at them. "How did we forget it was virtual?"
Nam shook his head slowly, not disagreeing, but in pain. "His technology's good. Almost too good. He could've killed us."
I shivered in fear as I studied Nam's minute injuries. How could a virtual environment actually hurt us? It must have had some super sensory output operating, for one thing.
"You might want to disable that," Miyka'el pointed out, motioning to the communicator. "He might try to override your command and initiate the program again." He shrugged at my confusion. "A long shot, but possible."
"Couldn't he just override the disable command, then?" I asked.
He thought about that. "Touché."
"Man, how'd you know that was going to work?" Zione asked, rubbing his arm.
"I didn't." I was suddenly somewhere between angry and grief-stricken. "You know, for a top secret task force, you sure got your asses kicked."
"We can't hurt him," Aurick reminded us.
"What? Because it would hurt you?" I laughed. "It would end up hurting you anyway, wouldn't it, if you didn't fight back?"
"She's got a point," Zione commented with a smirk, probably imagining the possibilities.
Nam was silent, staring at his injury. "His technology," he murmured. He turned to us. "And the magic? Does anyone want to comment on where Caol might have gotten his hands on some magic since we last saw him?"
Their faces all fell with the realization. We were all so relieved to get away that we completely forgot what it was we had been running from. Several of the guys cursed.
"It's impossible. Even if he did start training for it right after we last left him, there's no way he could have learned anything close to that attack in that amount of time," Miyka'el argued, with no one in particular. We all knew he was right.
I put my face in my hands, resting my arms and head against my knee as I sat in the circle of Villikins, and I sighed, disheartened. What was going on?
"Let's think about this," Nam began. "Fiore left. Caol went nuts. Caol has magic. Fiore hasn't contacted any of us. Caol wants to kill us."
"He didn't seem so mad when we first got there," I muttered. "Talk about a change of heart."
"This is insane," Zale stated, captain of the obvious.
"You think he really was trying to get us caught?" Aurick wondered.
"Wouldn't doubt it," Miyka'el said. The others nodded unconsciously in agreement.
"So he's working for the Queen now?" I asked.
They looked my way at once. "What?" Zione replied.
I remembered the scar. "He had this scar, a red mark on his arm..." I reached over to Zione, and traced my finger along the place on his arm where I had seen Caol's scar. He shivered as well. I stared at him, puzzled.
Zale sprang to an explanation. "That's a Queen's heart tattoo."
* * *